November 4, 2024: Sales and lodging tax collections in Charlottesville lower than expected in first quarter of FY25

Plus: Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors describes real estate market at “sluggish”

Nov 04, 2024

2024 now earns at least a B as November 4 represents 84.5 percent of the way through this particular solar rotation. The actual ranking for 2024, however, cannot be given until at least January 1 which is in 58 days. There’s a lot of time on the clock. Charlottesville Community Engagement will not be giving a grade, but you can expect at least three special editions in late December to give a sense of what’s been happening. I’m Sean Tubbs, planning to relax this holiday season with research.

In today’s installment:

Participation in early voting was down in all localities of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission except for Louisa which saw a slight increase
The driver who struck a woman in an Elliott Avenue crosswalk in October will face a misdemeanor charge
A four-month-old died last week six days after being struck by a vehicle while crossing Stony Point Road in Albemarle County
Charlottesville City Council did not collect as much revenue from the meals and lodging tax in the first quarter of the fiscal year
The area’s real estate organization provides another snapshot of a market with increasing prices, decreasing sales

First shout out: Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library

The rolling topography of the Charlottesville area keeps some people away from choosing cycling as an option to get around. Perhaps an e-bike is in order?

That’s where Charlottesville’s eBike Lending Library comes in! E-bikes are a great way to get around the community but there are many brands and styles to choose from. Because many e-bikes are sold online, it can be a challenge to try an e-bike before buying one.

The Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library is a free, not-for-profit service working to expand access to e-bikes in the area. They have a small collection of e-bikes that they lend out to community members for up to a week, for free. You can experience your daily commute, go grocery shopping, or even bike your kids to school, and decide whether e-bikes are right for you. Check out this service at https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org!

Only hours to go until Election Day; Early voting was down in the region this cycle

If you want to vote in the 2024 general election in Virginia, you’re going to have to do so in-person tomorrow. Early voting ended on Saturday and fewer people in the Commonwealth took the opportunity to cast a ballot in advance either in-person or by mail.

According to data collected from the Virginia Department of Elections and put together by the Virginia Public Access Project, around 2.3 million people have already made their decision. The figure is 16.39 percent below the 2020 election when 2,741,316 Virginians cast early ballots that were recorded through Saturday.

The number for early voting will continue to increase as mail-in ballots will be accepted by local registrars through noon on Friday.

Through Saturday, early voting levels were is down in five out of six localities of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.

Albemarle’s level of early voting is down 20.02 percent from 2020 with 33,732 votes in 2024 compared to 42,174 four years ago
In Charlottesville, early voting is down 28.45 percent from 2020 with 12,497 votes in 2024 compared to 17,467 four years ago
Fluvanna’s early voting is down 2.06 percent with 10,099 compared to 10,311
Greene County is at 1.36 below with 6,985 early votes to 7,081 in 2020
Louisa County is the only locality in the TJPDC that has increased early voting with a 6.8 increase through Saturday. The raw figures are 11,358 in 2020 and 12,130 in 2024
In Nelson, early voting is down 9.79 percent through Saturday with 4,752 in 2020 compared to 4,287 in 2024

If you have questions about where to vote, each locality has specific information:

Albemarle County is prepared for tomorrow, according to the director of communications and public engagement.

“There has been an ongoing collaborative effort across multiple County departments to support the General Registrar and her office's work to provide access to vote for Albemarle County citizens,” said Abbey Stump in an email.

In addition to presidential and Congressional elections, there are also elections for Scottsville Town Council though only one candidate is on the ballot. Nancy Gill of the James Exchange sat down with those who are running as write-in or on the ballot for Town Council.

Meet Molly Angevine-Write-In Candidate, November 3
Meet Roger Whitley-Write-In Candidate, November 3
Meet Walter Townsend-Write-in Candidate, November 3

Here’s a round-up of other election-related stories:

Scottsville doesn't have enough candidates to fill upcoming vacancies on its town council, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), October 31, 2024
5th District: McGuire pushes Trump, Witt warns against MAGA, Steve Hemphill, Cardinal News, November 1, 2024
Special election in Greene County uncontested, Heather Price Ives, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), November 1, 2024
The greatest threat to McGuire: A write-in campaign within his own party, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), November 3, 2024
Dozens in Charlottesville area purged from voter rolls at Youngkin's direction, Jason Armesto, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), November 3, 2024

Driver who fatally struck woman in crosswalk to face misdemeanor charge

The Charlottesville Police Department has concluded an investigation into the October 3 death of a woman as she was crossing Elliott Avenue at South First Street.

“The investigation revealed that at approximately 7:30 PM, Mamawa Simai was walking northbound in a crosswalk marked only with zebra stripes,” reads the release sent out Thursday at 3:07 p.m. “The area was poorly lit and had no signage or flashing lights indicating a pedestrian crossing.”

Police have charged 19-year-old Matthew Christian Kozub of Louisa County for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, a misdemeanor. Kozub remained at the scene and cooperated, but was arrested on other charges for other warrants against him. For more on that aspect of the story, take a look at Hawes Spencer’s story in the Charlottesville Daily Progress.

Simai died from her injuries soon after being transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center.

Since her death, City Manager Sam Sanders has announced he has directed staff to study the possibility of dropping the speed limit to 25 miles per hour city-wide. City crews have also installed some traffic-calming measures, but a petition has been circulated demanding the city install a second one at Elliott Avenue and 2nd Street.

“This is a highly trafficked legal crossing with no markers to protect civilians from oncoming traffic,” reads the petition. “Elliott Avenue is wide and straight with a steep hill that encourages people to accelerate — and they do!”

Charlottesville City Council will get an update Monday afternoon on projects funded through the Virginia Department of Transportation.

*A memorial to Mamawa Simai at the location on Elliott Avenue where she was fatally injured (Credit: Sean Tubbs)*

Baby dies from injuries after being struck crossing Stony Point Road with family

The Albemarle County Police Department continues to investigate an October 24 incident in which a driver struck a family as they crossed Stony Point Road near Riverside Shops Way.

“ Six pedestrians were attempting to cross Stony Point Road when a sedan traveling south struck four of the pedestrians—a 38-year-old woman, 3-year-old child, 1.5-year-old child, and a 4-month-old child,” reads an information release sent out last week.

The four-month-old child died of their injuries on October 30.

The driver of the vehicle stayed on the scene to assist and cooperate.

Albemarle Police are seeking witnesses of the crash to contact their traffic unit at 434-296-5807. Anyone who would like to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

For additional information on this story:

Infant dead, 3 others injured after car strikes pedestrians on Stony Point Road, Charlottesville Daily Progress (pawyall), October 31, 2024
Albemarle sees need for change after mother, children hit crossing street, Maggie Glass, WVIR 29News, November 2, 2024

Second shout-out: Charlottesville Community Bikes

In today’s second subscriber supported shout-out, Charlottesville Community Bikes strives to provide wheels to anyone who needs a ride. That includes:

There’s a Kid’s Bike program for people under the age of 12 (learn more)
Several social services organizations refer people to Charlottesville Community Bikes for access to reliable transportation (learn more)
There are mobile repair clinics held all around the area with the next one coming up November 5 at 6th Street with PHAR and The Free Book Bus (learn more)
There’s also a workforce development program that “blends mentorship and comprehensive training in bicycle mechanics” (learn more)

Do you have some wheels you’re no longer using? Community Bikes accepts all bike and bike-related donations, but at the moment, they are especially slim on adult mountain bikes and need kids' bikes of all sizes.

To learn more, visit their website and consider a donation to keep them rolling!

CAAR report: Real estate sales remain “sluggish” in third quarter of 2024

Three quarters of 2024 are now in the book and the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors has released their snapshot of activity from July 1 to September 30. The market is not robust.

“Sales activity continues to be sluggish in the CAAR housing market,” reads an introduction in the report. “There were 974 homes sold region-wide in the third quarter, 6 fewer sales than a year ago, a modest 1 one percent dip.”

In 2020’s third quarter, there were 1,460 homes sold, a number that has steadily decreased each year.

Prices are still rising with the region-wide median sales price now at $455,000, a three percent increase over the third quarter of 2023. There are also listings on the market then the same period last year.

Activity is not spread evenly throughout the area. The number of homes sold in Greene County increased 38 percent over 2023, with 80 homes sold compared to 58 in 2023’s third quarter. There was a four percent increase in Charlottesville and a five percent increase in Louisa County. Sales were down 19 percent in Fluvanna, nine percent in Nelson, and two percent in Albemarle.

The report also breaks down the median sales price of new construction, a figure that dropped one percent year-over-year from $510,494 in 2023 to $504,231. In 2020, the median sales price for new construction was $413,216.

Overall median sales prices increased 26 percent in Charlottesville, 19 percent in Nelson County, 18 percent in Greene County, and eight percent in Albemarle. However, the median sales prices in Fluvanna and Louisa were both down slightly.

As for new construction, the report notes that building permits for single family homes have increased while those for multifamily units have decreased.

The report notes that economic conditions in Virginia may be cooling with an increase in the employment rate to 3.5 percent in August, up from 3.1 percent a year before. Mortgage rates had begun to decrease to a cut in a rate controlled by the Federal Reserve Bank, but have begun to increase once more.

*Mortgage rates as presented by the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (Credit: CAAR)*

Charlottesville experienced lower revenue collections in first quarter of FY2025

The numbers are in for Charlottesville first quarter of the fiscal year that began on July 1 and a report submitted for City Council’s meeting today indicates that the era of continued revenue growth has come to an end.

“Current revised projections indicate that revenues are tracking slightly below budget, by $1,085,537 or -0.51 percent,” writes City Manager Sam Sanders in the financial report for the first quarter.

The reduction is due to lower-than-expected collections of sales tax and lodging tax. The report cautions against drawing any conclusions about how the entire may year, but does not that this is the first time since the late 2000’s that there has been a decline in either source. That does not count the first year of the pandemic in 2020.

“The take-away from this quarterly report is that we are likely returning to a more ‘normal’ revenue growth pattern,” Sanders continued. “That said, the revenue team is continuing to collect data and [is] monitoring revenues closely.”

Members of the public can monitor those revenues on a quarterly basis in the Budget Explorer.

The adopted budget anticipates bringing in a total of $21,252,218 in the ~~meals~~ sales tax for the entire year, but so far have only collected 22.54 percent of that amount. The FY25 budget also expects $9,562,500 across the year, and only 22.03 percent of that amount has been collected so far.

Earlier this year, Council voted to increase the lodging tax rate from 8 percent to 9 percent and the meals tax rate from 6.5 percent to 7 percent.

*The revised budgetary projections for FY25 taking into account reduced collections on two key taxes (Credit: City of Charlottesville)*

Revenues from the real estate tax are expected to be $108,438,706 for the entire fiscal year, but only .0.4 percent of that amount has been received. That tax as well as the personal property tax are not due until December 5. Council also increased that tax rate from $0.96 per $100 of assessed value to $0.98 per $100.

Meanwhile the city’s financial staff continues to collect and process the data for the fourth quarter of FY2024 which ran from April 1 to June 30 of this year. This information will be presented to Council at their meeting on December 16.

A question for readers: Has the increase in the meals tax deterred you from eating meals prepared at restaurants in Charlottesville? Let me know in the comments or via an email.

#754 is most certainly not a prime number

A funny thing happened on the way to hitting send today. I thought I only had four stories, and completely forgot that I wrote a fifth! Sometimes this happens.

This edition also features more links to stories in other publications on some of these issues. I don’t think many people scroll to the very end to see Reading Material. That means they likely also don’t see these messages, either.

I’m just one person here at Town Crier Productions but I have been part of the information-gathering community here for much of the past 20 years. I’m hoping to continue doing this and part of that is pointing people in the direction of other stories.

Journalism has been on the ropes for a while, but if you take a look around, there’s a lot happening. And I have a lot of ideas I’m hoping to put into motion in the weeks to come as we approach 2025.

I am grateful that the internet company Ting has sponsored this newsletter since April 2021 by matching the initial paid Substack subscription for new subscribers. This has really made a difference and it continues.

If you sign up for service and you are within Ting’s service area, enter the promo code COMMUNITY you’re going to get:

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Charlottesville Community Engagement